Christmas with the family

My sister and I were talking about relationships today, when she decided to share an important insight she's gained from her marriage. 

"One thing I've noticed - I see it in my marriage, with my friends, and with this - I think it is much easier for men to prioritize things with a relationship at the top.  E is better at that than I am, and sometimes it even leads to problems for us.  I need to remind myself to do that sometimes.  With women, we have to wear so many hats - mother, sister, friend, daughter..."

"Men have just as many roles."

"But it's different.  It is one thing that just seems to come easier for men, while as women, we feel pulled in so many different directions...  It's just harder for most women to remember to give a relationship the priority it deserves.  Does that make sense?"

I paused briefly before giving a hesitant, "So you're saying men are better than women at following the Bible?"

Based on her response, my sister seems to have a poorly developed sense of humor.

"You look like a guitar player"

I was watching football with a friend awhile back when I found myself sitting next to a guy to whom I took an instant dislike. I pointedly ignored him, and the bartender merely humored him, but it was clear that he thought he was the coolest guy in the room.

Don't cry for TCU and Boise State

I don't get all the outrage over Boise State and TCU being paired up in the Fiesta Bowl.  That matchup offers much more of a chance to impress voters than the alternatives, Iowa and Georgia Tech,

No one outside of Big Ten country took Iowa seriously before they lost their starting quarterback.  Would a win over the Stanzi-less Hawkeyes really impress anyone?

Tech beat Clemson, but they have no defense, and they were punched in the mouth in their backyard by a midtable SEC rival.  Again, I don't think anyone would be shocked by the Broncos or Horned Frogs rolling the Jackets.

With Oregon and Ohio State (yawn) locked into the Rose Bowl, there was only one big scalp for the upstarts.  Cincinnati gets their shot at Florida, and the best remaining alternative is the other unbeaten.  This Fiesta Bowl also prevents the underdogs nightmare- going 0 for 2 against Iowa and Georgia Tech.  Barring a replay of the much maligned 3-2 Auburn-Mississippi State snorefest, the little guys are guaranteed one more year of yelling "Look at us!"  regardless of what happens to the Bearcats in New Orleans. 

If either Boise State or TCU puts up a dominant performance in Glendale, they will garner a lot of acclaim from media and everyday fans.  It won't be enough to get a piece of this year's title, but that was out of the question regardless.  It would be one more log on the fire that will likely spell the eventual end of the BCS.

34-17 

World Cup draw a dream group for United States

A little late, but like almost everyone else, I'm ecstatic about the U.S. draw for the World Cup. After bad breaks and tough draws in previous Cups, we finally got a good group.

England is one of the pre-tournament favorites, but that is ok. You know there will be one seeded team in your group, and I'd much rather face England than a revenge minded Spain, or a creative team like Brazil or the Netherlands. A United States-England match will also generate a lot more interest among casual sports fans than anyone else with the possible exception of Brazil.

The European pot was the key. France, Portugal, and Serbia were among the nightmare draws possible from this group. Instead the U.S. drew Slovenia, first time qualifiers and arguably the weakest team in the pot. The Slovenians (Slovenes?) made it through a home and away playoff with Russia to secure their spot.

Algeria is is likely the worst from their pot as well. Instead of World Cup veterans like the Ivory Coast or Ghana, the U.S. gets to face a side that hasn't qualified for the finals in a generation. The Algerians are also Mediterranean rather than sub-Saharan, so they might not get as much support from the South African fans.

If you told Bob Bradley he could not have South Africa as the seeded opponent, but otherwise allowed him to choose the group, he may have selected these opponents. The U.S. has no excuse not to advance to the knockout stages and provide a building block for 2014 when our team should be a little stronger.

If you prick a Pennsylvanian, do they not bleed.... gravy?

My freshman year roommate at Carolina was from Philadelphia.  Within our first week on campus, he came in from class raving about the girls on campus.  I was genuinely confused.  I explained they looked pretty much like the girls from my HS, and he all but called me a liar.  A couple months later, he went home with me for a weekend visit and met a lot of my friends.  He apologized for calling me out on our way back to Columbia, but explained that he wasn't used to seeing so many pretty girls and he'd just assumed I had been lying.

I had forgotten about this until I moved up here.

I hate Facebook, don't leave me Facebook!

I've been on facebook for several years. I use the chat, like sharing pics and looking at others' photos, sharing superficial comments with both friends and "friends", and it has even helped me rebuild 1.5 connections with people I truly missed and am grateful to have back in my life. However, there are times I absolutely hate it.

Here's your sign

Since November 1, I'm driven from Philadelphia to Atlanta and back twice, taking a different route each time. I also have two trips between Greenwood and Atlanta, and a jaunt to Macon, and a couple or trips from the edge of the northern suburbs to the outer reaches of the southern metro area. I've driven a lot, y'all.

With this much driving, I've seen a ton of signs. Most of them are standard issue, but I remember three that made me scratch my head or laugh. Oddly, all three were in Virginia.

My sister is awesome

My niece just entered sixth grade and has begun a losing battle to get a facebook account, despite her mother's vow that she is too young and must wait for several years to join an adult networking site.

Tonight at dinner, Ev mentioned, "Caitlin is on facebook."

My sister seemed surprised. "Caitlin's on facebook?"

"Mama, everybody is on facebook."

"Everybody is not on facebook."

"Yes... they are."

"No, they're not. Know how I know?"

"How?"

"'Cause you're not on facebook."